I called Dr. Grosch and asked every question I’d had a chance to write down over the weekend - mostly about how energetic JoLee should be allowed to be, post-treatment, but some others, as well.
He wasn’t showing any signs at all of heartworm infection; no lethargy, no coughing. Did that mean he had only a few worms, and would that make recovery easier for him? Dr. Grosch thought that was probably the case.
Basically, as far as the activity restrictions go, I’m to just make sure Jo’s heart rate doesn’t increase - we want to keep him as calm as possible. If that means crating him, so be it - but some dogs get very agitated when they’re crated, so if he’s upset about being crated, don’t crate him.
We were scheduled to go on a vacation in two weeks, and when I asked about that, Dr. Grosch said that going on the vacation should be fine. I should definitely begin restricting his activity - no more frisbee-catching, and no more hikes. Only leashed walks, and abbreviated ones, at that. Apparently, heartworms cause more damage the more active a dog is.
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